When Immigration Gets Personal
With all of the debates and hot air out there on the issue of immigrants in this country, it can seem distant and very impersonal until faces start to get put on “illegal immigrants.” (This is a good place for me to state that as a child of God, I don’t believe that God’s children can be illegal due to national origin or immigration. Nations and geopolitical boundaries are human-made and cannot over-ride God. But that’s a discussion for another day.)
I met some “illegal immigrants” the other day. They are two of my grandchildren. As far as we can tell, they are in no immediate danger of deportation. (Where would two children under ten be deported to when the custodial parent is here and the other biological parent cannot take custody of them?) But because of the recent backlashes to immigrants, they have lost their medical coverage. And in order for them to become “legal” it is going to cost our son and daughter-in-law nearly $5,000 in fees and other requirements.
Because these two children are our daughter-in-law’s biological children from a previous relationship, they are not my son’s legal children. Their mom is a foreigner born in another land. She is here legally and has a green card. The children were born abroad, but their biological father brought them to the U.S. and then abandoned them with relatives.
Our son, married when he was stationed abroad, is an enlisted man in the U.S. Armed Forces. When they returned to U.S. soil, they immediately reclaimed her children. They are loving, bi-lingual, and well-adjusted. But recent laws passed in their state have removed their Medicaid. Our son’s military healthcare does not cover them, because they aren’t legally his. He is facing a long-term deployment, and the family is desperate to get medical coverage for the kids, and legal documents are needed for them to enroll in school and to participate in American society.
So here we have these dreaded “illegal immigrants” who are threatening America. Their step-dad is “defending” America. He’d like nothing more than to legalize his children. But he doesn’t get paid enough to afford it.
Sounds like a Catch 22 designed by Amiziah. But at least I now know what an illegal immigrant looks like and will be able to put faces on them when I read about them in the newspaper.
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What a sad story, which can be multiplied over and over. Once again, the innocent children are punished. Children should receive whatever health care they need and should be allowed to go to school, irregardless of where they come from.